HN Theater @HNTheaterMonth

MIT channel is awesome. Learnt a lot. Take a look at this course: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6U-i4gXkLM

Make the entire Internet your mentor. It's filled with information and answers to all sorts of questions. Look at some programming tutorials such as codecademy. Maybe find some books on computer architecture, learn about mathematics that might apply to computer scientists.

Here are some links to get you started.

http://learncodethehardway.org/

http://www.cplusplus.com/files/tutorial.pdf

http://www.saylor.org/majors/computer-science/

http://www.freetechbooks.com/

http://www.codecademy.com/

http://code.google.com/edu/

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/194812/list-of-freely-ava...

Also, learn to use YouTube to search for answers. Check this video out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6U-i4gXkLM

⬐ xvolter

I would agree with using the Internet, though I would not limit to any particular site, tutorial, or guides. I personally learned most of the programming I know from Google searches on per-case needs - the easiest solution is find something you want to create - way back when my project was to recreate MySpace - nowadays it may be a mobile app, a web services, or whatever you desire - then start building it - as you need to accomplish something new, learn that bit. You can also escalate your project if you start off small and build it - such as if you want to create a multiplayer mobile app, there are a ton of steps you can break up into smaller projects to learn all the aspects.

I find that people who learn CS from non-top-tier-tech colleges or from books tend to be limited in their knowledge, relying more on books and reference sheets than stronger programmers who learned by trial and error. People who learn how to program from external sources tend to be more narrow in their programming styles, following a single type or development, programming, project structure, and even languages - many are so limited they struggle to learn a new language, when a stronger program can pickup new languages quickly and entirely new programming styles.

Of course this is limited to programming for the most part. If you are going to be more focused on another aspect, the approach may be different. Learning hardware is more hands on and is harder to do through Google searching - in this aspect of CS, I'd strongly recommend some books to assist - also taking apart and rebuilding a computer or laptop is always fun if you haven't done so.

There are also other aspects to CS - if you are more descriptive with what you want to learn HN may be able to give some better replies.

I've really enjoyed watching the MIT 6.00 course (Introduction to Computer Science and Programming): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6U-i4gXkLM&feature=relat... The Khan videos seem to be about programming instead of computer science.

⬐ adorton

The series seems to be geared to the non-programmer, so some basic programming knowledge is necessary to start.

⬐ None

None

⬐ spicyj

I'm pretty sure that Khan will add some pure comp-sci videos later; there's no problem starting with plain programming and describing how programs run, is there?

Edit: Already (on his second day of making videos) he is starting to branch into algorithms: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCzQvQr8Utw

Here is an MIT Course: Introduction To CS and Programming

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6U-i4gXkLM&feature=relat...

Professor keeps everything simple and direct because this class is designed for beginners with no or little programming experience.

Here's the MIT OCW index for EE and CS courses: http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/#electrical-engineering-and-compu...

Here's the MIT OCW index for 6.00 w/ Grimson (2008): http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-comput...

Here's the first video lecture on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6U-i4gXkLM

I should mention this is a really good (IMHO) CS course that happens to use Python.

⬐ cesare

Is this the course that used to be taught in scheme?

⬐ kwantam

That course was called 6.001, and it used SICP as the text. This course plus 6.01 (approximately) replace it.

Damn shame that politics forced the department to abandon Scheme. Now half the classes are taught in Python and the other half in Java.

From http://ai6034.mit.edu/fall09/index.php : "The official language of 6.034 is Python for a variety of reasons having little to do with the strengths and weaknesses of the language." Politics. Yech.

⬐ djb_hackernews

I was under the impression that it was simply what the robots were programmed in.

⬐ Confusion

From what Sussman has said about the subject, it is pretty clear that politics had nothing to do with it.

⬐ ubernostrum

Of course, the politics isn't entirely one-sided. The foaming at the mouth that came from certain communities when it was suggested that perhaps Scheme and SICP aren't the one single universally true compendium of all useful CS knowledge now and forever was, well, off-putting.

⬐ jamesbritt

" ... was, well, off-putting."

Perhaps. But that doesn't make them wrong. :)